CHRISTMAS WITH THE BIRDS 



747 



for the seed- eating species will prove most successful 

 lures. Crumbs of raw peanuts and sunflower seeds are 

 relished by all species. If 

 one succeeds in attracting a 

 few birds to his feeding 

 station others are apt to 

 follow them and surprise 

 follows surprise. One 

 awakes to hear a new voice 

 and finds a stranger at his 

 board and always the 

 stranger is welcome. The 

 flocks of juncos and tree 

 sparrows grow in size, the 

 numbers of chickadees and 

 nuthatches are slowly aug- 

 mented, woodpecker fol- 

 lows woodpecker until one 

 has a goodly number of 

 pensioners that come right 

 to his window sill and 

 invite him to come out 

 and enjoy the Christmas 

 weather. Many of them 



SOME CHRISTMAS WATERFOWL 

 Scamp ducks enjoying 



Indeed one need not be surprised when tramping 

 at some distance from home or any of the feeding 



stations to have a little 

 chickadee fly down and 

 alight on his head or his 

 shoulder as though he 

 recognized him even out 

 there in the woods. 



On Christmas day the 

 children delight in adding 

 a Christmas tree for the 

 birds to the feeding sta- 

 tion. Melted suet into 

 which sunflower and other 

 seeds have been stirred 

 can be poured over the 

 branches of the evergreen 

 to which it will adhere. It 

 will last for many days and 

 the birds enjoy hopping 

 among the branches and 

 picking the tidbits from 

 the boughs. Surely, if one 

 cannot tramp the fields, 



dinner that has been spread for them along 

 the edge of the ice. 



will become tame and some may even learn to take food it is well worth while to have a Christmas with the 

 from one's hand without a sign of fear. birds at home. 



supervisor McMillan gives his life for his country 



T? IRST Sergeant Lann- 

 -*- ing Ross McMillan, 

 Co. B, 29th Engineers, U. 

 S. A., was killed in action 

 in France on August 16th 

 by an exploding shell fired 

 from the enemy's guns. 



He was born in Buffalo, 

 New York, August 9, 1877, 

 and was the youngest son 

 of Hon. Daniel H. McMil- 

 lan, formerly a state sena- 

 tor and for many years at- 

 torney for the New York 

 Central and Lake Shore 

 Railroads, and subse- 

 quently United States 

 district judge for New 

 Mexico. 



Young McMillan at- 

 tended Cornell University, 

 afterwards entering the 

 United States Forest Serv- 

 ice, finally becoming super- 

 visor of the Jamez, Pecos 

 and Carson National For- 

 ests, with headquarters at 

 Santa Fe, New Mexico. 



He enlisted last Novem- 

 ber in the 29th Engineers 



from Camp Devens, Ayer, 

 Massachusetts, and was 

 sent overseas in February. 

 He had been advanced 

 steadily and would shortly 

 have received his commis- 

 sion as second lieutenant. 

 Surviving him are his 

 mother, one brother and 

 three little children, all re- 

 siding at Corona, Cali- 

 fornia. 



LANNING ROSS McMILLAN-A HERO OF THE WAR 



C ELECTED white birch, 

 ^ obtained in this and 

 other sections of New Eng- 

 land, is playing a highly 

 important part in the work 

 of mercy being carried on 

 in connection with the 

 European war. This wood 

 is finding its way to the 

 battlefields of France in 

 unprecedented quantities, 

 after having been trans- 

 formed into boxes and 

 containers for drugs and 

 medicines used in hospital 

 and Red Cross work. 



